Healing for Black and African Diasporic Community

Sunday, October 2, 2016

2:00pm 6:00pm14:0018:00

We believe that green spaces hold a lot of healing energy. In collaboration with my Third Root Community Health Center and Brooklyn Open Acupuncture, 462 Halsey Community Farm is hosting a healing space on Sunday, October 2, for members of our community who are grieving, processing, ruminating. While we understand that the discord in our country today affects everyone, our intention for this event is to create a healing space specifically for Black and African Diasporic people in our community, with other people of color and white people in support and collaboration. This event will include free acupuncture, Reiki, massage, acupressure, herbal medicine and of course, food and conversation.

We hope to create space that acknowledges that the depth and consistency of grieving, and that the daily pressures brought forth by systemic racism and white supremacy do not affect all of us in the same way. We hope to create space for an organic healing experience to evolve, and would like for participants to guide it as much as possible. We will provide healing practitioners providing services free of cost, food, beverages, speakers for music, sage for burning and more. This event is free, open to the public and family-friendly (childcare will be provided, see link below).

We ask that everyone please respect this. Help us create a safe, healing space where affected people can process freely. Holding an event for people of color may seem exclusionary. We believe there is an enormous difference between exclusion and giving respectful space for grief. Before we can truly unify, we need to allow time and space for healing. Sensitivity to the very real pain of people who deal with daily and inter-generational oppression is a very important step.

This event is not an indictment of any individual, but rather an acknowledgment of and response to existing social structures - specifically racism and white supremacy. We invite white people who seek to be a part of this event to do so by playing supportive roles. Help us uphold the sanctity of this event. That could look like preparing food or drinks, bringing healing herbs before the event or helping out with childcare during the event.

This event will be RAIN OR SHINE - we hope for good weather, but have a tent and pavillion in case of bad weather.